According to the website of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the government agency did not properly deduct Medicare premium costs from some seniors’ Social Security checks earlier this year, so those seniors’ premiums did not get sent to their Medicare plans.

“If you are affected and haven’t already received a bill in the mail, you will soon. The first bill will likely be for a larger amount than usual to make up for the unpaid premiums.”

Bills will come directly from the plans themselves, the SSA says.

According to Kaiser Health News, the federal government’s Social Security and Medicare agencies did not explain how or why the mistake occurred, nor did they “provide a more exact number or the names of the plans that were shortchanged.”

The total amount that affected Medicare enrollees now owe the plans also wasn’t announced.

What all Medicare enrollees should do now

The Kaiser Health News report notes that the affected Medicare enrollees may not realize they’ve been affected. They may have assumed the Social Security payments they received were a little bigger since January due to the 2019 cost-of-living increase in benefits, rather than because of a glitch that prevented the withholding of their Medicare premiums.

So, if you are on Medicare, consider taking it upon yourself now to determine whether you were affected rather than waiting for a letter to arrive. The sooner you find out whether you were affected, the sooner you will know whether you need to brace your finances for an unexpected health insurance bill.

“You may be affected if you enrolled either in a Medicare Advantage Plan or in a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan for coverage starting January 1, 2019, and you asked to have your plan premiums taken out of your Social Security payments.”

If you fit that description, the Medicare program advises that you “contact your Medicare plan directly with any questions or concerns.” If you are unsure what plan you have, the program says to check your plan card or materials.

If you are unable to find out from your plan whether you were affected — or if you learn that you were indeed affected — you can also seek assistance from one of these entities:

Medicare: The federal program notes that you can call 800-MEDICARE, or 800-633-4227. Teletypewriter users can call 877-486-2048.

Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP): These federally funded programs offer free counseling and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries. For contact information, visit the national SHIP website and click on the “Find Local Medicare Help” button in the upper right corner.

Medicare Rights Center: This nonprofit notes that its Helpline counselors are available at 800-333-4114.

What affected Medicare enrollees should know

The Medicare program notes that the premium glitch has been corrected. This means that “unless you told your plan you now want to pay your premiums a different way, your plan premiums will be taken out properly from your Social Security payments beginning in June or July 2019 through the rest of the year.”

As for premiums that you might still owe due to the glitch, you should know that:

The Medicare program says that if you receive a bill from your Medicare plan, the plan must offer you a grace period to repay the missed premiums. The grace period must be at least as long as the billing delay.

The nonprofit Medicare Rights Center notes that Medicare plans “also have the option not to pursue these outstanding payments” for premiums.

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Chris Kissell

I am the founder of Words At Work, LLC, a writing, editing and consulting company based in Colorado. In the past, I worked as senior editor at Bankrate and senior managing editor ... More

I am the founder of Words At Work, LLC, a writing, editing and consulting company based in Colorado. In the past, I worked as senior editor at Bankrate and senior managing editor at Insurance.com. I've also written for and worked closely with U.S. News & World Report, GOBankingRates, CreditCards.com, QuinStreet and many other websites and publications.
I've lived in Minneapolis (too cold), South Florida (too hot) and Denver (just right).